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East Pittsburgh Council Holds First Meeting Since Antwon Rose's Shooting Death

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EAST PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Speaker after speaker demanded answers of the East Pittsburgh Borough Council on Tuesday night, at the first meeting since a police officer shot and killed Antwon Rose Jr.

"I can't imagine what it's like for other 17-year-olds walking through East Pittsburgh, knowing you haven't done a single thing about the officer," one man told council members.

A woman asked: "Do you care? Do you care?"

A young man asked: "When you don't fire someone who should be fired, you're not doing your job right now."

The mayor and solicitor said they couldn't speak about personnel matters, but the mayor did say it's not true that the police department had no policies, as the Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala had criticized.

"There was policies, but they may not have been updated the way they shouldn't have been," said Mayor Louis Payne. "I just can't go there right now, so don't put me on the spot!"

Amy Wadas' Report:

Councilwoman Mary Carol Kennedy told reporters: "I think our police have always tried to do the best they could," and went to so say she believed other departments had similar problems. She says she's committed to listening to input and making improvements.

The mayor says they're engaged in a review of the police department and hoped to have a timetable of what happens in the future at the next council meeting.

He also said there could be drastic changes in the near future.

Rose's death in June touched off weeks of protests in and around East Pittsburgh.

One shut down the Parkway East, another the Tri-Boro Expressway, and another one just this week shut down several busy streets in Downtown Pittsburgh.

Rose was shot and killed on the night of June 19.

A week later, East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld was charged with criminal homicide in connection with Rose's death.

The shooting happened when Rosfeld pulled over a vehicle matching the description of one seen leaving the scene of a drive-by shooting minutes before in North Braddock.

Rosfeld remains on unpaid leave from his job as a part-time officer in East Pittsburgh.

Normally, council meetings are held at the Senior Center on Grandview Avenue, but this one was moved to the community center because it has more space.

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